Motocross

Herlings and Paturel take the wins at Swiss MXGP

Posted:

Monday, August 14th, 2017

9:35 AM

The MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS roared to life in the Swiss chocolate like soil of Frauenfeld - Gachnang which provided the perfect surface for Jeffrey Herlings and Benoit Paturel to take out the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Jeffrey Herlings came into the weekend with a win on the Lommel sands and he was hoping for another in Switzerland. In race 1 it looked as if his dreams would not turn into reality when he started near 15th position. One lap in he made his way up to 10 and from there he continued charging.

Jeffrey Herlings was back on the top step again in MX1

At the front of the field it was Wilvo Yamaha MXGP‰Ûªs Arnaud Tonus leading his home GP. Tonus took the lead on the first few turns from the #99 FOX Holeshot winner, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Max Anstie.

Anstie made several attempts to pass Tonus throughout the 16 lap race but the Brit never found a way past. In third and fourth it was the French riders of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Romain Febvre.

Febvre hounded the back tire of Paulin and on lap 8 made it by but it was short lived as he stalled his Yamaha and took time restarting the machine. The error allowed Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Antonio Cairoli into third right after he‰Ûªd passed Paulin.

Back at the front Tonus responded to the challenge and he won his first ever MXGP race ahead of Anstie, Cairoli, Paulin, and Febvre while Herlings finished 6th.

Frenchman Gautier Paulin was second in MXGP

In race 2 Tonus and Herlings switched roles with Tonus around 18th and Herlings in the lead after a Cairoli FOX Holeshot. Cairoli also lost a spot to Paulin and he was passed by Febvre in the early portion of the race.

While Herlings started to check out from the field Tonus was fighting his way through it. Tonus fell on the tunnel jump prior to the finish and at first he was unscathed by whilst trying to return to his bike was hit by Suzuki World MXGP‰Ûªs Arminas Jasikonis send both riders tumbling.

Jasikonis remounted but Tonus walked of the track unable to finish in a disappointing end to his weekend.

The front four stayed in the same order to the finish with Herlings winning, Paulin second and Febvre third after a Cairoli charge came up short. Team HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser took the final spot in the race 2 top 5.

"I rode a little bit to careful in the beginning of the race so I‰Ûªm not happy with my second race but I am happy about the overall GP, to be on the podium is always good," Cairoli said.

Antonio Cairoli rounded out the MXGP podium and only lost 2 points on his championship lead

The overall win was taken by Herlings but only gave him a 2 point gain on Cairoli in the championship. ‰ÛÏIn the first race I messed up the start‰Û_so I worked from 15th up to 6th but the guys in 10th place shouldn‰Ûªt be underestimated, they are still going fast and have won GP‰Ûªs. I am very very happy and I hope to keep this rhythm going," Herlings said.

Paulin‰Ûªs 4-2 gave him second overall and his first visit to the podium since Russia. ‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm back getting good starts, back more or less in good shape, so I‰Ûªm looking forward to next races. Being on the box is great for the team and it is back where we need to be," Paulin said.

Jeremy Seewer is the hometown hero and he didn‰Ûªt disappoint his fans this weekend. In race 1 the Suzuki World MX2 rider was around 4th off the start with his title rival, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Pauls Jonass ahead of him.

Taking another Fox Holeshot was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jorge Prado Garcia. Seewer had the cheers of the crowd motivate him to pass Jonass which he did 4 laps into the race.

Frenchman Benoit Paturel took his Yamaha to victory in the MX2 class

3 laps later Seewer then passed Prado to take the lead and from there he charged on. Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team‰Ûªs Benoit Paturel rallied his way into second and on the final lap caught Seewer.

Seewer made a mistake out of a corner which allowed Paturel to get right next to him and apply pressure. Seewer noticeably tensed up but still took the win only 6 tenths of a second ahead of Paturel.

Race 2 couldn‰Ûªt have started worse for Seewer when he hit the back wheel of Prado and went down in the first corner. Prado took the holeshot Jonass was right in tow as Seewer was left collecting and restarting his Suzuki from dead last position.

Jonass then took the lead from Prado but fell shortly after dropping to 5th and giving the lead back to his teammate. Only a lap later it was Prado who fell and gave the lead away.

Jeremy Seewer couldn't get the MX2 win in front of his home crowd but still came back strong in the second moto to claim 2nd overall

Capitalizing on the KTM rider‰Ûªs mistakes was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Thomas Covington. Covington led for 5 laps before the determined Paturel found a way by the American.

Meanwhile Jonass worked his way back into the top through and past his teammate. The real story however was Jeremy Seewer coming back through the field in a valiant effort. Seewer made it all the way to 5th at the finish giving him second overall. Seewer later said: ‰ÛÏIt is just amazing what happened this weekend, I think that with the whole history of motorsports in Switzerland this is a new level with all the crowd and the fans. It is a tough moment but still we are looking to forward to the next GPs.‰Û

Championship leader Pauls Jonass rounded out the podium with little damage to his huge championship lead

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 34:40.671
2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:00.882
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.419
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:08.563
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:23.095
6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:31.501
7. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:33.556
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.368
9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:40.735
10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:41.371

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:26.611
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:04.557
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:07.625
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:11.381
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:23.231
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:31.183
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:44.703
8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:52.004
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:53.997
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), +0:55.213

MXGP Overall Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 40 points
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 40 p.
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 38 p.
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 36 p.
5. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 31 p.
6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 30 p.
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.
8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 25 p.
9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 25 p.
10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 22 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 605 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 508 p.
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 486 p.
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 483 p.
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 406 p.
6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 401 p.
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 358 p.
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 348 p.
9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 328 p.
10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 320 p.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 35:16.002
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:00.620
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:23.088
4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:29.007
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:36.006
6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:39.419
7. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:41.102
8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:45.138
9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:47.424
10. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:50.953. MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), 35:22.061
2. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:04.826
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:10.043
4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:12.078
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:14.984
6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:26.033
7. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +0:32.668
8. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:34.746
9. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:37.807
10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:38.587.

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 47 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 41 p.
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 40 p.
4. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 36 p.
5. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 36 p.
6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 30 p.
7. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 23 p.
8. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 23 p.
9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 23 p.
10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 22 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 629 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 580 p.
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 476 p.
4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 467 p.
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 428 p.
6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 387 p.
7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 351 p.
8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 308 p.
9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 260 p.
10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 259 p.